A whole Lifetime apart
by Floppster
Summary: In the year 2179 Judith Laverne Hopps finally fulfills her dream and embarks on the journey to colonize an entirely new world as a member of the Genesis Project. This forces her to leave everything behind earth, her familiy and most importantly her best friend. But the vast interstellar void is not nearly big enough to stop Nick and Judy from falling in love, or is it?
1. Farewell my only friend

Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Disney, least of all Zootopia (yet)

* * *

 _A wise mammal once said that a lifetime is too short to be significant. In the grand scheme of things it really is insignificant. And yet for each and everyone of us a lifetime is all we have._

 _So to each and every mammal a lifetime is the most significant commitment to be made._

 **Farewell my only friend**

The spaceport was filled with mammals of all kinds of species as they went their merry way.

All sorts of mammals were boarding ships and transporting goods. That was the norm here in the biggest spaceport that earth had to offer.

And yet there was something special going on.

Something that filled many with happiness and sadness.

Something that inspired awe in some and fear in others.

The new Genesis project was starting its first fleet of deep space transports.

Mammals of all species and walks of life were chosen to board these ships and create a new civilization deep in the still unexplored system of CB-142.

Science had found out that this particular system had two habitable planets in it.

Judy had always dreamed of exploring a whole new world.

She had always dreamed of being a new settler on a strange planet far away from home. It was the greatest adventure that she could imagine.

And after trying to get a spot for so long, she was finally chosen.

She would be part of this great quest to spread civilization through the Milky Way.

So here she was, standing in front of the great star ship STS Prometheus like she had always dreamed.

Soon its gates would open and she would be called inside, to be put into cryosleep.

Why did she feel so anxious?

Why did was she feeling so sad?

This was the greatest thing to ever happen to her!

She had been feeling butterflies in her stomach back when she read the message the congratulated her for being picked as a farmer for the project.

She turned around and it dawned on her.

The entire area was crowded and not many mammals were allowed here, and yet they had all come.

Her siblings, her parents and most importantly her best and only friend, Nick.

The red fox was just casually standing next to her while she was staring at the ship that would be her home for the next 500 years. His expression was just as casual as it always was, with his signature smirk that she sometimes hated so much.

Yeah this damn stupid grin that hid his emotions so well, even from her.

Sadness overcame her when she realized that this was the last time that she would be able to see it.

She turned around and ran into his arms, embracing him in a bone crushing hug.

Normally Nick would have said something sassy or made a sarcastic remark. But it showed her just how hard it was on him as well when he didn't.

She had no Idea how long she just stood there and hugged him like he was the most precious thing she had ever held in her arms.

Her best friend, the only one who had always been there for her. Through all the good and all the bad.

She had never truly understood why he had refused to join the program with such passion instead of going on this great adventurer together with her.

He had always said that he liked earth and that he wanted to stay with his mom, so that he could care for her once she had grown old.

But that meant that the two of them would never see each other again and even Nick's mother had agreed with Judy that her son was being stupid in that regard.

And yet Judy could not help but wonder if she had been too selfish by asking Nick to just leave everything behind and come with her.

Maybe she had been too selfish by just deciding to leave him!

Maybe she should be staying here?

With him, with her family?

She could always be a normal farmer back here on earth.

NO! She needed to go, this was her dream!

And she would never get another chance like this. And more importantly she would never forgive herself if she gave up now.

Her name and identification number were called and she knew that it was time to go.

She let go off Nick and hugged her parents and said her goodbyes.

And once more she stopped in front of Nick.

"So I guess this is goodbye." She said awkwardly and the situation finally caught up to her as she was choking up.

Nick's poker face finally broke as well and he looked just as sad as she was.

"Yeah, I guess so."

He hugged her and gave her a kiss right between the ears.

She blushed and in a daze she replied with a kiss on his cheek. He deserved as much after being with her for all these years.

They were not looking at each other. It was one of these moment were if one of them were to actually look at the other, well, they would probably not be capable doing what needed to be done.

Judy broke their embrace and turned around after her name was called once more.

Somehow she was waiting for Nick to call her back.

She fully expected him to stop her and if he did...then what?

Would she stop?

Would she go back?

No there was no way!

She was Judith Laverne Hopps and she was going to be on this adventure even if it meant leaving behind everything that she knew.

The short pang of guilt that she felt when she passed the security checkpoint and entered the ship was immediately swallowed by the sense of wonder that overcame her once she saw the glistening interior.

Mammals from all kinds of species were herded towards their respective sleeping areas while colorful displays gave information on the boarding process.

The anticipation was killing Judy as she stood in the smaller mammal line together with a young buck who had introduced himself as Jack Savage.

And while it was nice to meet a like minded rabbit, it was not like she was interested in talking to him at the moment.

Her focus was on the doorway that came closer and closer with every mammal that passed through.

It took a while but the queue was constantly shrinking which allowed to enter the room.

The room was not like she had imagined. She had thought that the area for cryosleep would be a huge room with pods all over the place.

But the room was rather small, in stark contrast to her imagination. It was like a small office with a a desk on the left that was home to a cheetah in a lab coat and then there was a machine in the middle of the room that resembled what she would have thought a cryopod should look like.

The cheetah smiled as she greeted her,"Miss Hopps, if you would come over here please."

Judy just nodded and took her place in front of the big desk.

"So, Miss Hopps as required by protocol I shall now ask you a few questions and you are supposed to answer with a simple yes or no."

The cheetah looked at her and Judy immediately replied with "yes!"

The cheetah smiled and a holographic interface appeared before her,"great you already got the hang of this. So let's get started then. You are Judith Laverne Hopps, born on earth, correct?"

Judy nodded,"yes."

"Good", the cheetah tapped the holographic interface and smiled,"Judith Laverne Hopps you have received a health checkup by the federation in the duration of the last week and have thus been vetted ready for duty. Is this correct?"

Another nod,"yes."

"Great, and you have read all the handbooks about the initiative which means that you are informed of all the risks that accompany this endeavor?"

"Yes."

The cheetah smiled once more,"alright last question. Knowing these risks are you sure that you want to participate in this mission?"

Judy hesitated for a whole second before she answered,"yes ma'am!"

"Alright" the cheetah said as she entered one last info into the holo interface.

She then got up and gestured towards the machine that was currently behind Judy.

"If you would."

Judy smiled and got up.

Her heart was currently trying to escape her chest as the machine whirred to life.

Its cocoon shaped exterior was broken when the tinted glass front raised up and fell back behind the machine.

Judy knew exactly what to do and jumped into the machine before her. And strapped herself in, just like the handbook had described.

The inside was comfortably warm and soft which surprised Judy since the machine was supposed to freeze her.

And while Judy was still wondering if she would look like one of these deep frosted carrots, the ones that one could buy in every decent supermarket.

She did not even notice the cheetah on the outside as she activated the machine. Which resulted in a very startled Judy when the glass front closed up before her.

Butterflies were going wild in her stomach when she realized that this was it.

A speaker on the inside of the cryopod played the message that she had waited to hear so long.

" _Welcome brave adventurer. Congratulations for being chosen as one of us. My name is Skye Schnee and I wish you a safe journey. As the head of this operation I hope to see you in the best of spirits when we all safely arrive in CB-142. Until then, sleep tight."_

There was a hissing sound but Judy felt nothing. The journey had begun.

* * *

Authors Note:

Here it is! My new project.  
I am going to finish this before I write anything else(which is probably going to kill me).  
So stay tuned for the next chapter.


	2. A whole new Horizon

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Disney, least of all Zootopia (yet)_

* * *

 _Time is a concept that even after all these years surprises us in unexpected ways._

 _It slows for those who wish it go by faster and it speeds away for those who desperately try to hold on to it._

 _Even though that seems to be unfair, Time is the one thing always pushes us forward no matter how hard we try to stay in the present._

 _And in the end we should be thankful for this._

 **A whole new Horizon**

Time had passed unbeknownst to the passengers of the STS Prometheus. In fact it was on this day that the ship had reached its destination and after 522 years of cryosleep it would now finally be time for them to awaken once more. The ship finally reached the planet CB-142-D and had maneuvered itself into a stable orbit, it was time, and the machinery inside the ships belly whirred to life. After being in cryonic slumber for more than 500 years it was now that the mammals of the crew were reawakened one by one.

Judy was wondering what being frozen would feel like, there was a strange hissing noise.

Was this going to be it?

Would she be frozen now?

Judy looked at the front of the cryopod and saw the female cheetah work on the cryopod. And the cryopod opened once more.

"Is something wrong?" Judy asked somewhat disappointed.

After all if her cryopod was not working now then what would happen during the 500 years that she was frozen.

The cheetah smiled,"we won't know until after I thoroughly check you."

Judy furrowed her brows,"why me? Isn't it the machine that is not working?"  
A hearty laugh was the only reply that she got from the cheetah, which annoyed her so much that she tried to get out and maybe even leave the ship.

Where if this mammal was responsible for waking her up as well then she would rather not take that chance.

And so she jumped out, when Judy's paws hit the ground though she felt as if her legs were made out of jello. It was so bad that she fell, only to be caught by the cheetah before her.

The same cheetah who was still laughing,"Sorry...pfff.." She recovered though and continued in a more serious tone. "It is just that your reaction was so adorable that I could not help myself."

This only served to agitate Judy even more,"what do you mean adorable? And what happened to my legs?" She asked accusingly, before muttering under her breath. "It has only been two minutes. Who can tell what would happen in 500 years, maybe I should just leave?"

Due to the close proximity between the two the cheetah was easily able to hear this which caused her to chuckle once more.

"You might be a little bit late in making that decision, just a teeny tiny bit." She added the last thing while holding her claws together so that they made a really small space between them.

Judy rolled her eyes,"Who would stop me, you?"

This caused the cheetah to chuckle once more and Judy wondered what was so damn funny.

"I probably should have started with this. Congratulations Miss Hopps, you made it."

The cheetah reached out one arm and gestured towards a window that was in the wall before them.

When Judy started looking around she realized that she wasn't even in the same room as before.

But what was even more important than that was the fact that behind the window laid the most beautiful thing that she had ever seen.

Before her laid a purple and rust colored planet with specks on green on it.

"We have arrived." Judy said breathlessly.

The cheetah nodded,"welcome to our new world, my dear."

The checkup went without any issue and after resting for twenty minutes Judy felt as good as new.

Next up on the schedule was the speech of Miss Schnee.

During this speech Judy was not really listening though, her eyes as well as her mind were focused on the whole new world that was spread out below her.

This beautiful orb that would be her home for the rest of her life.

She had always tried to imagine what an entirely new planet would look like, naturally she had based her ideas off of earth. But now she was not so sure if this world could be similar in any way.

Earth was so green when you were looking at it from outer space.

What kind of plant could be purple?

Were there even plants on this planet?

Would the seeds that they had on the ship even grow here?

Would she have to cultivate new plants from this planet to feed their small civilization?

She knew that all of her questions would be answered soon and it filled her with anxiety as well as determination.

Hours passed and the passengers of the STS Prometheus were herded into smaller shuttles which would take them to the surface of the planet where the first landing troops had already secured the designated landing zones.

And so it just so happened that Judy found herself to be next to Jack once more.

The young buck seemed about as anxious and about as exited as she was. At least if his nervous thumping was any indicator to go by.

Judy actually found that rather funny until she realized that she was also thumping away nervously when the ship entered the planets atmosphere.

Once they had reached the planet though things got even more interesting.

The planets surface was indeed much akin to that of earth and the air was indeed breathable.

A major difference between the old world and the new one were the fauna and flora though. Giant leathery bird creatures were soaring through the sky and pink moss like plants made up most of the floor in the area that they had landed in.

And while the soldiers at the scene were busy observing the giant flying creatures in order to make sure that they had no chance to attack any of the settlers, it was now time for said settlers to start building up their settlement.

Giant machines carried precreated modules which were designed to fit together in a block like system. This was done by construction workers while the rest of the population, Judy included, were sent to their designated areas to find their new living quarters.

It took about a day until the small city was built and everyone had settled in.

There was actually nothing to do on this first day for Judy as designated farming areas had yet to be created.

So here she was, sitting in her room her gaze fixated on the glorious spectacle that was sundown in this world.

It was so beautiful, so familiar and strange at the same time that it made the new world before her even more surreal. She just stared at the sun until it was gone and waited for the stars.

Stars which looked so familiar and once more so different at the same time.

She was surprised to find out that there were two moons at night, one big and one small which painted the scenery from before in a ghostly blue light.

In the end she fell asleep in front of the window, but it did not matter, there was so much left to see and this was only the beginning.

* * *

 **A few months later**

Judy had just finished watering the plants in the greenhouses when Jack rounded the corner and they bumped into one another which made him drop some of the boxes that he was holding.

"Uh...hey Judy, sorry I didn't see you there." He said sheepishly.

Judy smiled,"its okay, don't worry about it. I am just as much at fault as you were."

This made Jack smile as well,"you finished watering the plants as well?"

Judy just nodded in reply and he went on,"lucky you, I still got hopper duty. And I still need to harvest some of the other insects as well."

This time Judy could not help herself she just had to place a little verbal jab. "Well Jacky boy you shouldn't have lost that bet then."

His ears dropped immediately,"come on Judy, be merciful and let me do some plant work as well. I am begging you!"

He looked at her with big watery eyes in that dorky way that made him look like a little kit. But Judy would not fall for that,"if I had lost the bet then it would be the other way around now. Wouldn't it?"

"But, I would have showed mercy if you asked me! Come on, where is the solidarity between rabbits?", he asked and she was almost sure that if this dragged on that he would really drop to his knees and actually beg. Which was something that she definitely wanted to avoid.

So she ignored his question and pressed on with a smile,"come on Jack. You are a strong young buck that wouldn't get scared from touching some bugs. Besides it is only for two more months and then we go back to shared duty."

And with that she passed him and made her way back towards her room while he started picking up his boxes.

Work was still really easy for Judy since most of the farm was still under construction.

That being said though it was certainly not easy either. The plants would not grow on the soil that this new world presented and the scientists were still trying to find out why. Thus greenhouses were the method of choice and as long as they were checked upon and well maintained there was not much to do. Well except for taking care of the bugs that served as food for the many predators that were around, but that was Jack's problem, not hers.

Judy flopped onto the bed and grabbed her old datapad.

It was a simple one that she had bought back on earth. But to her it was the most precious thing in the new world since it contained valuable photos and videos of her family and naturally herself and her best friend.

It had become a ritual for her to watch some pictures and videos whenever she finished work early and today was one of these days.

So she leaned back and watched a video from her school days. It was a talent show where she and Nick had performed amateur magic together.

The classic old rabbit sawed in half trick. And even though she had gotten a week of detention for it, she was still proud of her screams and the clever use of ketchup as stage blood. And she was still sure that Mrs Pumpernickl had only been mad that they went for a magic trick instead of dancing or something else. There was no way that the younger students got traumatized by this she thought as she watched the part of clip were the 'blood' was propelled forwards by the saw and sprayed into the audience.

That was still a great effect, even after all these years Judy though with a smile.

She missed Nick so much, she had even brought blueberry seeds with her just so that every generation after her could enjoy his favorite food.

She had yet to plant them though, as the greenhouses were currently necessary to secure a basic income of food.

And blueberries where not the secure food source that their community needed, as a farmer she was sure of that.

Nick would beg to differ, she thought with a giggle, but he wouldn't want to live in a world without blueberries anyways.

Maybe that was the reason why he did not come with her in the first place, she thought for a moment, and she could not help but laugh. The way she knew Nick that might have actually been a real possibility.

But it would not take long until she would be able to plant them so that everyone would be able to enjoy their sweet taste. Water supplies had been secured and once the water was cleaned and then prepared it would enable them to harvest algae which was a secure food source.

Which meant that she would have to watch over giant water tanks as well.

But in turn they would then be able to easily raise fish as well, which would make Katy, the tiger from down the hall that she bumped into every now and then, really happy.

Judy was almost scared up onto her feet when the datapad in her paws suddenly vibrated.

 **What the hell!?**

She stared down onto the offending object which she had dropped into her lap.

It displayed something that could only be a joke.

 _Message:_

 _From: Nicky_

 _For: Carrots_

 _Open video message?_

Her heart was racing, and for a moment she wondered who had the capabilities to pull such a tasteless joke on her. She would most certainly find out and murder this sad individual.

Okay, maybe not murder. If it was Savage then she would lock him into a small room together with a few thousand roaches.

That would teach him.

A stray thought found it's way into her boiling mind.

What if this is real?

But how could it be?

Nick was an eternity away!

Well there was only one way to find out, she thought as she pressed the play video option.

There was a little bit of static before a picture came into focus and it displayed a room that could only be described as a complete and utter mess.

There were machine parts and other things that she could only identify as scrap and half eaten takeout boxes.

But there was not even a trace of her best friend.

She knew it! She had been a fool to hope for anything!

There was no way that she would get a message from...

"YES! IT WORKS!"

Judy almost dropped the datapad once more as Nick triumphantly jumped in front of the camera from what seemed to be behind the camera.

He looked somewhat sick, with his dis shelved fur and the rings under his eyes.

In fact he was looking like sleep had been evading him for days.

"So...uhmm...hey carrots!" Nick spouted out awkwardly.

Yes, definitely no sleep whatsoever for her favorite fox.

"If this really works then you should get this message from me." He smiled into the camera and it made her heart melt but she was not prepared for what he said next.

"You see I used the last four years to create this handy machine." He grabbed the camera and turned it sideways allowing her to see a giant machine. A machine that looked like a lot of scrap thrown together. Before he brought the camera back into it's initial resting position and took center stage.

"It was really hard let me tell you. But now I can finally communicate with you!"

His smile grew even warmer then before,"I mean I can send you messages and you can watch them. I can only imagine how you must feel right now."

It was at this moment that his smile turned into a frown,"I mean if you have been feeling as lonely I have. If not then I guess you are still happy to hear from me, right?"

His sad expression when he considered that she might not have been waiting for a message from him was heartbreaking for her.

And while she had to be honest she had not been waiting, how could she have been?

But she was so happy that this message existed regardless.

Nick's frown slowly turned back into a smile when he said,"but I am sure that you are happy. You are my rabbit after all."

How pretentious Nick, she though with a grin.

Your rabbit?

Yeah that had been true back then, she thought happily.

So why should that change now?

Nick yawned and gave a sigh,"you know carrots, I am feeling so tired right now. Catch ya tomorrow, have sweet dreams."

With this he made his way over to the camera and the video ended.

Which left Judy alone in her room.

Would she really get another video tomorrow?

No, the better question was why would Nick lie to her about this?

The clear answer was that he wouldn't.

Judy's eyes teared up with tears of happiness when she realized that her best friend had spent four years of his life just so that he could make her happy.

And she watched the video at least a dozen times more before she fell asleep without dinner.

* * *

Authors Note:

So here is the next installment in the story. We are finally getting into the plot here.  
I think there are around two more chapters to go so that is great for me.  
And can you imagine I read up on how to plant bluberries and there is a specific type of blueberries which is called Rabbiteye bushes. I wonder if someone has already made a joke/story arc about that. I am sure Judy would tease Nick endlessly that his favorite food comes from Rabbiteye bushes.  
Something something...Foxes can't get enough of rabbits even in modern day...something something...happy rabbit noises. (That by the way is how I sophistically plan my dialogue)

At Stubat: Thanks you. Am trying very hart, that I speaks englisch language right. Witch someday is real hard for moi.  
All joking aside, thanks for the vote of confidence buddy. I am trying my best to make this resemble proper english as much as I possibly can. Which is hard since english is not my first language.


	3. Radar Love

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Disney, least of all Zootopia (yet)_

* * *

 _Science found out that once a two mammals have been friends with each other for at least ten years, that they will likely stay friends for the rest of their lives._

 _Makes one wonder how many good friends may have been lost to stupid decisions._

 **Radar Love**

Surely enough the next day came and Judy felt like a little kit on Christmas eve.

It certainly made her feel all giddy inside knowing that another message might come from Nick at any moment.

And the fact that this was actually true was what made her work about twice as hard as she normally would. Just so that she was ready in time watch the message right as it was received.

Judy was actually surprised how fast she had managed to get all of her duties done when she looked at the clock and realized that it was still noon.

And for a moment she did not really believe that she could actually be done. Which resulted in her actually checking that everything was properly done.

This little quirk of hers, cost her another hour. But it was worth it once she discovered that she had indeed forgotten to water some of the plants.

This was not really the end of the world, but it was still a job which was poorly done and so she made sure to carefully water each and every plant.

Once she was sure that she was actually finished for real this time, she went back to her room. This however presented her with an entirely new problem, waiting.

Waiting was most slowly killing her from the inside. At least that was what it felt like to her.

After just sitting on her bed for about twenty minutes which effectively felt like an eternity to her, she began to wonder if there might be more work left to do. And the only thing that she could come up with was the fact that Jack was probably not even close to finishing his duties yet.

Should she just go and help him out?

Just to kill time?

Nah, she couldn't do that. If she did then he would use that in order to guilt trip her into going on shared duty again.

And after he had tried to dump all duties bug related onto her with his stupid bet there was no chance in hell that she would let him get off early.

Hence she tried to brave her boredom with more videos.

This time she chose to view some stupid videos she and Nick had made when they were teenagers where they would challenge each other to do stupid things. These particular videos were made with one purpose in mind, making each other look as stupid as possible or as uncomfortable as possible.

Which lead to the video Judy was currently watching where she was eating Bug-Burga while Nick watched her with a smirk that made her wonder how the top of his head had not fallen off yet.

The burger had tasted awful and she was happy that she would never have to do that ever again.

Yet it was a fond memory, not because of the burger incident but because of what had happened when the camera was not rolling.

She was still thankful to Sharla for showing up and thus 'forcing' her and to have her first kiss by suggesting this rather spicy dare.

It had been really awkward for Nick and her to kiss but a dare was a dare.

The datapad vibrated and Judy almost dropped it, again.

Gee, Judy, how long until you learn not to freak when you receive a message? She thought to herself when she turned her gaze back to her screen.

There it was, another message, just like Nick had promised.

And Judy was just about to open the message when the datapad vibrated again!

This time she was only mildly unprepared and that meant that she was only mildly freaked out.

"Startle me once Nick, shame on me." She whispered somewhat disgruntled. "Startle me twice though, are you trying to kill me?" She asked somewhat ironically as she checked what the second message was.

The first one had been a video just like yesterday while the second message contained an audio file.

And because Judy was a stickler for the rules, she started with the video message since it had come first.

The screen was static for a moment, just like with the last video and then the same room as before came into focus.

It was just as much a dump as it had been the night before. This was no real surprise since it had only been one night since the last message and who was supposed to clean that place up?

Nick, nah, if Nick was in charge of cleaning that room then it would probably stay that way for the rest of his life.

Judy could feel the urge that was instinctively telling her to go over to her best friends house and force him to clean up that mess, naturally with her help.

And that would result in her doing most of the work by the end of the day. Which was okay since Nick would appreciate her for doing it.

She had no real time to feel down though when she realized that this was no longer possible.

Nick walked into frame from behind the camera and took his place center stage once more.

"Hey carrots, how are you doing today?" He said happily and it was clear that he was actually well rested this time around.

His smile turned into a smirk and he continued,"don't answer. I am sure you are having a nice day. It is you we are talking about after all. Miss Sunshine who makes the world a better place everywhere she goes."

There was a glint in his eyes that she could not identify yet while he was talking but with Nick her philosophy was: When in doubt go with mischievous, that will work out in nine out of ten cases.

Nick continued while she was still thinking this, which meant that her theory would be put to the test right now.

"But whatever mood you might be in, I am sure that I can improve it!"

Bold statement, buddy, she thought.

But go on, "so Judy, as you might have guessed from my previous message. Four years have passed and this means that a lot of things have happened here on earth."

Judy wondered where he was going with this when he pulled out a datapad of his own.

"And it just so happens that your favorite singer brought out some songs while you were gone."

He showed the datapad to the screen which showed a whole list of Gazelle songs.

"And while you know that I am not really fond of her music, I know that you most certainly are. Which lead me to buy all of her songs so that I could send them to my favorite rabbit across the stars."

Judy's jaw dropped, she had naturally thought about the fact that she would hear no new songs from her favorite singers and bands. But she had not put together that Nick was able to send them to her either!

Forget mischievous! That fox is a real hero!

She regretted these thoughts immediately though when Nick went on and his smirk grew.

"That being said though, I mean, I know how passionate you can be about certain things. And thus I needed to make sure that you do not neglect your work in favor of listening to your new favorite songs. Hence be thankful to this smart and handsome fox who decided to send these songs to you one at a time. One song every day."

Yep, mischievous on nine out of ten occasions and she could not help picturing herself putting a seal on this theory which proclaimed: Rabbit tested and not approved!

Wait, she thought, that meant that the audio file was the first song?

Nick began tapping around on the datapad, "and attach song."

After finishing he smiled,"and now that this is done I will leave you to your own devices carrots. I got a job interview today and I will tell you how it went down tomorrow, ciao."

With that the screen went black.

The video had been rather short and she wondered what kind of job Nick could be applying for.

Maybe something technical?

If he had the skills to build a device that allowed him to send messages all this way across the vast emptiness of space then he might as well work as an inventor or a technician for a big company.

That was not really that important at the moment though.

Really, she could think about Nick's potential career choices at a later date.

Now her paws were tingling with want as she wondered about the new Gazelle song that Nick had been so sweet as to provide her with.

She opened the file and the title read: "Gazelle-Try Everything"

The next days and weeks passed in a blur as Judy got message after message from Nick and they settled into a routine. Every now and then he would send something else with his video messages. Like the songs that Judy was now constantly listening to while she was working.

Or pictures and video messages from her family.

He really was the sweetest fox and it was crystal clear to her that he was trying to keep her from being homesick.

And it worked around sixty percent of the time, the other forty percent were cases where she actually got homesick because of the things that he had sent her.

Nick was apparently working as an engineer for Star Corps Industries, the same company that had designed the STS Prometheus.

And he seemed really happy with his new job.

Judy meanwhile had lots and lots of new stuff to do.

The science department of their community had found an indigenous plant which was deemed safe for consumption and thus fields had to be planted.

The new plant resembled corn in a lot of ways. The first few fields were experimental and would serve as a testing ground for Judy and the other farmers to find out how to best care for the new plant.

This process took a few months and combined with the new algae tanks it made for quite the increase in workload for Jack, Judy and the rest of the farmers.

Judy's attempt to strive for excellence combined with her go-getter nature in regards to work lead to her ending up spearheading all these new projects.

Which meant that Judy was the one responsible for the future of their little community in the delta quadrant of the new planet.

And while Judy was really happy that she mattered and was able to make the new world a better place for every mammal that depended on her. That did not neccesarily mean that she was entirely happy with the way things were moving along.

For example, going out towards the new fields required her to carry a rifle at all times. Hence she had to learn how to treat and use one first, which was a useful skill to have of that she was sure.

But the fact that she needed a rifle to 'protect herself in case of emergency' while there were guards in towers and guards patrolling the perimeter at all times, was concerning to say the least.

The problem in this case was the local fauna, as more and more savage creatures of the predator category took interest in settlements all over the globe. The number of deaths had been small, but with the limited mammalpower that they had...well command was not taking any chances.

More time passed and things were going pretty nicely for Judy. The farm was growing as more plants were discovered which were deemed edible. And Judy finally got the hang on how to treat these new plants. The stray predators were still posing a problem but Judy only really had one encounter in the span of the few years that she now been head of the farm. Which lead her to believe that the threat was not as great as she had first thought.

Yeah, everything was going great. Until Nick started acting strange that was.

And the most nerve wrecking thing was that Judy had no way to investigate, as to why he was acting strange, other than watching the videos he was sending.

She had no way of finding out what was wrong by interacting with him and it was driving her nuts.

And so it happened that she came into her room on a particularly hot day just as she received a new message from Nick.

The background had changed drastically from the first message he had sent.

He had set up a desk which he sat behind while he was talking to her and the room was actually clean, she still deemed it a miracle. And she wondered if some sort of black magic had been involved since she was sure that Nick could not be responsible for the clean room.

Her hopes were that maybe today's messaged would allow her to find out why he was acting so strange and that it would give her the peace of mind that she so desperately needed.

When Nick finally came into view from behind the camera and sat down in the chair behind his desk he looked somewhat nervous.

Which was something that she had observed for a few weeks now.

"Hey carrots," he said and for the first time she could actually hear the nervousness in his voice. Normally he had been able to keep his poker face up and his voice controlled but that had not saved him from the keen observing eyes of his best friend.

Judy knew how to find even the tiniest cracks in his almost perfect emotional armor, a fact that she was very proud of.

But today there was no such armor to be found, he actually looked far to vulnerable to be honest and that scared her.

"So carrots, as you probably already now, since you know me pretty well." He made what seemed to be a dramatic pause to take a breather.

"Something has been eating away at me and I think it is finally time to come clean with you."

Judy's eyes instinctively went wide. Come clean was not the most positive of ways to word something and it made her feel anxious as to what might follow.

So anxious in fact that she, for the first time ever, hastily paused the video.

What could Nick want to come clean about?

Her eyes went even wider when she considered the dreaded possibility.

What if he was not able to send any more messages for some reason?!

Panic came over her when she finally realized that this might very well have been a reason for Nick to act the way he had in his previous messages.

How would she live without his messages?

Could she bear to loose her best friend, again?

The answer was a definitive no.

Deep down she knew that her feelings were not just normal feelings of friendship at this point anymore.

She knew because of the way that she felt all warm a giddy every time that she received a message from Nick.

She knew because of the way that her heart jumped every time she saw him smile.

And Judy knew that this was love. She had been stupidly ignorant at first and she wondered how long she had been having feelings like this without her noticing.

But she knew.

She had heard of rabbits who died of sadness.

Would she die from sadness?

She couldn't right?

She had so much work left to do and so much life left to live.

Dread crept into every fiber of her being when she turned back towards the datapad that may or may not contain that dreaded truth that would probably destroy her.

Judy took a deep breath and shook her head in an attempt to shake of her dread.

Bad message or not, she had to know.

And so she pressed play once more.

* * *

Authors Note:

Phew, another chapter done.  
I might need to correct and say that I need another two chapters to finish this instead of only one.  
Else this chapter would have been easily 5k words long.  
Since I am currently dealing with newly arisen real life problems it is uncertaint if I can keep my pace. But we will have to wait and see. It is certainly affecting my ability to write of that I am sure.

At:Metal Amadeus let's see about that shall we?


	4. Limits and Potential

_Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Disney, least of all Zootopia (yet)_

* * *

 _No matter how close two mammals are to each other, there will always be new distances between them. This stays true for an entire lifetime and the trick is to learn to love these distances as well._

 _As they allow you to rediscover each other anew._

 **Limits and Potential**

The video continued and Judy started holding her breath subconsciously.

Nick looked into the camera somewhat sheepishly when he continued,"but this is not really easy for me."

He paused for a moment and looked straight into the camera as if he was searching for something. Something that wasn't there. And it felt like he was staring straight into her eyes before he broke 'eye-contact' by chuckling.

"You know, this is my twelfth attempt at trying to say this and it seems to get harder every time."

He put his head into his paws and gave a sigh.

"Aww...what the hell!"

He slapped his paws against the side of his muzzle as if he was trying to wake himself up before he hammered them down onto the desk. The impact of his fists startled Judy and she almost missed the look of steely determination on Nick's muzzle when he said.

"I love you Judy!"

There was a pause where Nick just stared at the desk while Judy's brain was still busy trying to understand the words which Nick had utter just seconds ago.

Had he just...?

Judy looked at the screen intently as if Nick might give a hint as to what he had just said.

She was sure that she might have misunderstood since she had been prepared for the absolute worst.

Did Nick just confess to her?

The fact that Nick seemed rather down made it hard to tell and she wondered if she had just been imagining things.

Maybe she was going insane as her mind was protecting her from the bad news that he had uttered instead.

That was a possibility right?

She was still confused when Nick finally continued.

"There I said it, I love you, and I really mean it, I do."

He said with sadness in his eyes.

Why was he so sad?

"I realized it a few days after you went away."

There was another sigh but he straightened his shoulders and continued.

"And at first I thought that maybe I was just being sentimental. That you leaving made me reevaluate your worth to me. And I thought that it would go away."

Judy's heart was pounding harder than it ever had before in her life as she watched Nick who was currently silent once more.

"But it didn't. And so I started building this machine."

He gestured into the rough direction where she knew that the machine was located in the room.

"So that I could communicate with you. So that I could send you messages and make you happy."

It was now that his eyes actually teared up and that was not fair thought Judy as her eyes started doing the same.

"But then I realized that you would never be able to actually send anything back. That I would never know if you actually received anything because I would already be long gone when you receive these messages."

Nick sniffed and wiped his eyes with the back of his paws before he continued, and Judy was sure that he was really close to crying.

"And that was okay, because even if I never get to know if you are happy, I have to at least try. Because I love you and you deserve being happy."

He was now back to staring intently at the camera.

"And I want you to know that no matter what happens I will always send you messages even if you might never see them. Even if you stopped caring, because you know that I am already dead. There is still that chance that you want to see my messages and that is enough."

Now it was Judy's turn to wipe her eyes.

How could he even think that she would stop caring about her best friend?

She would never do that!

A tear started rolling down her cheek.

Even if he was already dead.

"But that is not why I am so scared of this or why this whole thing is so hard on me."

He looked down onto the desk as if looking her in the eyes was something he would like to avoid when he said.

"And I caught myself thinking that I wish I wouldn't love you. Just so that I do not have to fear."

He sighed once more and Judy wondered.  
What was it that Nick was fearing?

"I know that there are two possibilities. Either you love me back or you do not. And to me...both are equally terrifying."

She could see that he finally started crying as well.

"Because if you do love me then you might be sad because we can not be together. And even though I want to be there and make you happy, I can't."

Judy knew exactly what Nick felt and to her that made the whole situation even more heartbreaking.

She just wanted to be there, by his side, and hug him so that she could tell him that she loved him as well and that everything would be okay.

"And if you don't, well I do not have to explain that do I?" He said before breaking down into a sad mess.

For Judy it was just too much to watch. But like when watching a horrible accident there was no way for her to take her eyes of.

The video went on for a few more minutes before Nick found the composure to end the message.

Which left Judy on her own with her feelings.

Her sadness, her fears and her regrets.

For the first time since she had started working on this new planted she called in sick and stayed in her room for a week as she dealt with her love sickness. She felt outright lethargic and did not even open the messages that Nick sent her.

Because she knew that if Nick was feeling as bad as she was, then watching him break down once more would most certainly break her.

And after being a bed for a whole week she slowly started to get back to work.

Jack would ask her what exactly had been wrong with her but she just evaded the topic as much as possible.

Once she was confidently back to form she also started watching Nick's messages again. She saved that messages that she had not watched yet in a folder that she labeled:

 **'Deal with Later'**

Nick actually went back to normal in his latest messages and it was like the incident from two weeks ago had never really happened.

Life was pretty peachy for Judy once more, the harvest was plentiful this year and Gazelle brought out a new album which Nick sent to her in his usual spread out way.

Yeah life was decent once more and Judy knew that Nick loved her which made everything that he did that much sweeter for her.

But it also made what happened about a year later hurt even more.

It was a relatively normal day and Judy returned to her room to watch Nick's daily video message.

So here she was on her bed with the datapad in her paws ready to click play.

And there he was taking his place behind his desk like always.

Judy wondered if he would ever figure out how to start a recording without standing behind the camera. And the thought that Nick was smart enough to figure out how to send video messages across the stars, but not smart enough to use a remote for his camera was incredibly funny to her.

Nick had his signature smirk on his muzzle when he greeted her.

"Hey there Carrots! How are you doing?"

There was a pause when he shifted to a more comfortable sitting position.

"I am sure you are killing it over on your end."

And Nick was right, she was actually doing pretty decently.

Not only was the harvest good but Katy was having her first litter together with another tiger named Ron. Which was not that special all on it's own, but the thing that was special was the fact that Judy would be a godmother for one of the cubs once it was born.

And she sure hoped that she would do a good job. She had no idea how to be a role model for a tiger but she would figure something out.

"Something really surprising has happened here on my end since the last message I sent you." Nick said happily and his smirk turned into a genuine smile.

Judy's mind immediately focused one hundred percent on the video once she heard that.

What kind of surprise would make Nick react like that?

It sure was nice to see him that happy and seeing him this happy made her smile as well.

"I am sure that you remember Emily from high school?"

Judy felt like her insides were suddenly turning into hot lead.

And she had a dreadful idea where this conversation might be going.

Her smiled turned into a frown when she remembered Emily.

Emily was a vixen that had transferred into their high school one day and she also had been put into their class.

Judy still remembered the immediate hatred that she had felt for the beautiful vixen when she had first laid eyes on her.

And that was for one simple reason, they were in high school and Judy had heard from her older siblings how easily friends could stop being friends once one of them got into a relationship. Especially if the mammals in question were male and female.

Not to mention predator and prey.

So when Judy had seen Emily she had immediately thought this vixen would steal Nick away from her.

Which was stupid since Nick had not shown interest in her once for the whole duration of high school.

But this had not mattered to past Judy.

She still remembered the hidden rivalry between them, a rivalry which was kind of one sided, but a rivalry none the less.

She still remembered comparing herself to Emily at all times.

Be it about grades or sports or, yes, even beauty.

Which was really stressful since Emily had been a real smart cookie. This therefore made her one of the reasons why Judy's stubbornness made her a great student and in a way she was thankful for that.

The funnier thing to look back on must have been the beauty thing though.

Judy was now far more secure about her looks.

But past Judy, teenage Judy, had not been so sure.

And while Nick had never really cared to groom himself when he was a kit or even during the first half of high school.

Emily sure did!

Judy still remembered how she saw her fluffy tail for the first time and how she wondered if only female foxes had tails that puffy.

And how nice it would be if Nick had a tail with that much fluff, which he later did when he started actually taking care of himself.

But when Judy compared herself and thus inevitably her stubby rabbit tail to the young stylish vixen, well there was no way that could end well.

So the answer was yes, she did still remember Emily.

And while she wished that past Judy had been less hostile towards her, since future Judy was sure that they could have been great friends.

Judy also still wished that Emily would back the hell off from Nick.

"I meet her at a coffee shop during lunch break yesterday and we had time to catch up."

Nick said with that dreamy look on his muzzle that made Judy want to punch him in the gut.

How dare he feel that way about another female, she thought angrily.

Nick you are mine you are supposed to love me...forever, her mind added and she felt a little bit sad.

"And she asked me whether you and me got together."

Judy's eyes went wide.

She did?

Why would she do that?

Why would she think that in the first place?

"And I told her that you are taking part in the Genesis program. And that I only found out that I loved you after you left."

Judy was confused.

He had told her all that?

Maybe there was nothing going on after all?

Dumb bunny why do you have to jump to conclusions like this?

She was still mentally scolding herself when Nick went on.

"And she told me that she had a huge crush on me in high school."

"I KNEW IT!" Judy exclaimed as all her teenage fears were validated in one sentence.

Good job past Judy!

You showed that roach who's boss.

"But she never dared to get between you and me because she knew that we were destined for each other."

This conversation was a literal rollercoaster for Judy.

Emily had known that they belonged together before they even knew?

How?

And why would that stop her from trying to get Nick for herself?

Hadn't she told him that she had loved him back then?

"I think she might actually be the right one." Nick said somewhat happily somewhat reluctantly.

Judy looked at the screen as if she had just been slapped in the face. And for a moment there she actually wanted to just turn of the video and cry.

But she didn't, she didn't and Nick continued.

"I actually think she might accept the fact that I will never love her as much as I love you. And that she will stay with me regardless and love me for who I am."

Judy wondered if she could feel any more confused than this.

"And you know what Judy?"

Her heart was not sure what to think at this moment. Part of her wanted to be angry that Nick might be dating Emily and that she could do nothing about that.

Another part of her was happy that Nick considered her number one, that he loved her the most.

But how long would that last?

And another part of her melted away happily when she heard him say her name. It was funny to her how happy he could make her just with that one thing.

"I will give dating someone else a try. Just like I said back when I confessed my feelings to you. If I don't try, I might actually go insane from having nobody by my side."

He looked at her with a somewhat saddened impression and Judy wondered when he had said that thing about dating someone else. Until she remembered the messages that she had not even watched until this day.

"I am sorry if I am hurting you with this. And I hope that you can forgive me for trying to feel better after you left. And if you cannot forgive me that is understandable, since I am a horrible friend who says I love you and then finds another female to go out with."

Judy felt guilty, she understood what his angle was. He wanted someone to be with and to have someone he could share his love with who was physically there. Someone who would love him back. But he wanted to also make sure that this mammal understood that he loved her, which was really stupid to be honest since she doubted that he would be able to find a mate this way.

And yet she was angry at him for trying, even if it was her fault that put him in this position in the first place.

If she had not left then they would be happily living together and Nick would love her and they would adopt kits and...and Judy had now officially brought herself to cry.

She almost did not notice his last words while the tears streamed down her cheeks while she wondered what could have been.

"But maybe I am being stupid and you are actually happy for me. I mean you are the greatest mammal I have ever known and you always try your best to make everyone happy. If anyone can find it in their heart to forgive me and support me then that mammal is most definitely you."

Judy felt another sting where her heart was and the tears would not stop flowing.

That was not fair Nick!

How can you think of me this way?

How can I be that pure and good in your eyes when I am this selfish and petty?

"Whatever option it may be Judy, I love you and I will always love you regardless! So have sweet dreams and sleep well." He said with a smile that was just as happy as the one that he had started out with.

The video ended there and thus left a somewhat sad and confused Judy behind.

* * *

Authors Note:

Damn did I have little time to write this chapter. This also means that I did not have the time to proof read as much as I usually do (I usually read it 3 times).  
I only went over this once and that means there might be more mistakes than usual, deal with it.  
And I sure do hope that I can wrap this up in the next chapter.  
AT: Metal Amadeus, first of all I could not find out what a 'Hatiko pose' is therefore I dont know how to react to that. Thanks for being concerned times are actually pretty hard for me and I might need to stop writing all together. As for the challenge I hope I can win with the next Chapter since this one was not that sad.  
AT: Guest, you saw that I can just hope that I wont again.  
AT: Jackel Skyhawk thanks for those kind words. As I said the end shall hopefully come soon.  
AT: Tantio all good options and I was tempted to throw the smell thing in there somewhere but I'd like to think that Nick secretly has some things from Judy back in his home that he keeps around for comfort. He would never tell Judy though.


End file.
